virtualbub

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Can pinball ever trust VR again?

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News! - Kodansha Comics announced at Emerald City Comic Con that in 2017 they will be releasing a brand new 35th anniversary Akira manga box set! This box set will include vols 1-6, plus the “Akira Club” art book in new large, hardcover books with uncut, unaltered artwork. The SRP for this set will be $199.99. Kodansha stated it will announce note extras closer to the release date, so stay tuned for updates! 

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Happy April Fool's Day!

GamePro April 1998

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If anyone still plays their PS3 (and actually still follows me), feel free to add me on the PSN there, same screen name (virtualbub). I'm finally getting to all those games I never got around to before, but I find myself playing Zen Pinball more than anything. Pretty sure more than half of what I have so far are remakes/reimaginings or throwbacks in one way or another, but at the same time I'm playing Assassin's Creed and not hating it.

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Tribute Games’ next, Flinthook, is a grappling hook thing ⊟

Also known as my absolute favorite kind of action game. I am really looking forward to more details! All we have now is this video, which is a recreation of the tile-by-tile reveal of the game on Twitch. 

A good way to pass the time while waiting for more info is to play Ninja Senki DX on PS4/PC/Vita, or the single-screen action game Curses ‘n Chaos, both of which I’ve been enjoying quite a bit lately.

SUPPORT TINY CARTRIDGE Join Club Tiny!

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It's funny, I didn't notice the weird scaling until after I'd already posted it (and normally I'm really picky about that stuff). Nice comparison shot.

On a related note, I just hope MGBA adds 240p support soon. And with all these strides toward improving GBA emulators on the Wii, it's kind of sad to see everything else has been abandoned. Still waiting on better performance from SNES9x GX and others.

[ HR ]

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Well, I'm nearly ten(!) years too late, but I'm getting a PS3 (it comes on Friday). Recommend me some games, preferably ones that I wouldn't be better off getting on Steam due to DRM/framerate issues and such). I plan to get these, eventually: Katamari Forever Rayman Legends Disgaea games Ratchet and Clank games Bayonetta Nier Bioshock series Assassin's Creed series (or some of them) Modnation Racers Sonic Allstar Racing Transformed SSX Killer is Dead 3D Dot Game Heroes "Souls" games Downloads: Wipeout HD Okami HD Journey

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VR's Killer App

I know most people are 100% over the virtual reality craze that we all kind of try to forget never happened, but this new wave has me, and apparently a lot of developers, very interested. We're finally at that point where the technology is there for an unprecedented level of emersion that people call euphoric and drug-like. Probably the biggest hurdle is the price point, which for the best experience could likely put you back a couple grand if you don't have a modern gaming-quality PC. So it's hard to see anything taking off anytime soon without some seriously enticing software. This is why I think Square Enix should have waited and made FF7's return a VR title. Now, hear me out. The original was a game that was a landmark for how truly cinematic and beautiful it was to look at, so a reimagining would feel right at home on a VR device (presumably in this case, the PlayStation VR). Obviously, this would present challenges. You certainly can't create the same kind of game with this technology, or if you tried it would feel strange and out of place. This is why something built from the ground up with a new gameplay mechanic would be even more amazing than what we've seen from the current remake trailers. What kind of gameplay would we see? I'm not even sure how it would work, so maybe this is all a moot point. But even something akin to an adventure game would be something worth exploring. The environments in the game had so much charm and atmosphere, I firmly believe they could carry the game if this were to come about. Just imagine: since we won't see Cloud because you're playing as him, there's a huge opportunity to get creative here. His/your reflection in the buster sword (used to dramatic effect...if possible). And you could see him/yourself in those "out-of-body" experiences. There's a lot to explore there. Now, if Square is really feeling ambitious and daring, they would release the the next major installment in the series like this. The problem is, if they fail, it could set back the franchise and the perception of VR even further. I can't see anyone taking that kind of risk until VR adoption really takes off. It'll be interesting to see how things turn out, but I'm sure my suggestion will never come to be. VR tech will finally catch on once it's cheap, accessible, and most importantly, developers actually figure out what they're doing with it, and what works. Or, it could all completely flop again, and we'll see another attempt 10+ years down the line.

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Is it normal to get significant input lag from snes9x? I don't remember it being this bad, but then again I never used this particular emulator much outside of console ports. It doesn't seem to be the display (for the most part), and different USB controllers all perform the same. It's a shame that the Wii port just isn't quite optimized enough that I'll forego using my PVM just so I can get better speed/accuracy. There's no perfect solution...maybe I'll get one of those flashcart-type devices at some point.

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“Sonic: Mega Drive” will be written by Ian Flynn and illustrated by Tyson Hesse, a reunion of the creative team behind Archie’s 2015 Sonic and Mega Man crossover “Worlds Unite.” The story is set in the era of the original Sonic games, and will feature Tails, Knuckles and Amy Rose, all characters from the first few Sonic titles.

“Long time ‘Sonic’ comics writer Ian Flynn is at the helm of this commemorative story, which he is currently writing up and crafting in the same vein as an actual Genesis-era 'Sonic’ game,” “Sonic: Mega Drive” editor Vincent Lovallo said in a statement to CBR. “It’s been a while since we’ve delved into the Classic Era of Sonic, so we figured the 25th anniversary was as good a time as any to revisit this iconic art style.”

“Sonic: Mega Drive” is scheduled for release on July 6. Hesse’s cover and the full solicitation text follows. SONIC: MEGA DRIVE #1 Sonic spins into a brand new, Classic-styled, SUPER SPECIAL one-shot “Mega Drive”! Join Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Amy Rose on a brand new adventure—set after the fall of the Death Egg! The nefarious Dr. Eggman is trying to build a new engine of destruction: the MEGADRIVE, and it’s up to Sonic and his whole crew to stop the mad doctor and save the day! Join Sonic and his friends in this special commemorative issue celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Blue Blur! Script: Ian Flynn Art: Tyson Hesse, Jack Morelli and Matt Herms Cover by Tyson Hesse On Sale Date: 7/6 32-page, full color comic $3.99 U.S. Source: ComicBookResource

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PVM shot of Castlevania: Rondo of Blood emulated on the Wii.

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Super R-Type hooked up to the PVM with s-video. First test run with this particular cable and a physical Super Nintendo. It looks so good I almost don't feel the need to jump for RGB.

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Got my new PVM kinda set up. It's smallish so it's hard to take good photos, but it looks pretty fantastic. I just need a good spot for it.

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Lodoss War truly has some of the best art.

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close enough.